Perceptions of Community about the Characteristics of a Good Physician: A Mixed Method Research

Abstract

Objective: To explore the perceptions of local communities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad about the characteristics of a good physician and their expectations regarding attributes of a good physician. Study Design: Exploratory sequential a mixed method research. Place and Duration of Study: Different localities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad from September 2017 to February 2018. Materials and Methods: Data for this research was collected using three focus group discussions followed by a cross-sectional survey. For quantitative data, a pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to 804 respondents between the age group of 25-65 years, selected through non-probability convenience sampling technique. All the data was gathered after taking informed consent and confidentiality was ensured. A qualitative content analysis was carried out using inductive approach and the quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: Out of the804study participants, 57% were females and 43% were males with a mean age of 35.1 +11.8 years. Amongst highlighted qualities, 77.1%, ranked honest and trustworthy as a first priority, 73.4% marked second priority to being a good communicator, third and fourth priorities were kind and respectful (82.5%) and good care provider (69.4%). There was no difference in prioritizing the characteristics among both genders and this finding was statistically significant (p=0.004), however education had very significant role in prioritizing these characteristics (p=0.000) i.e., for uneducated participants priority was respect while for educated community honesty appeared as priority. Conclusion: The current study concluded that honesty, trust, politeness, respect, and care are the main characteristics of a good doctor desired by the community. These non-cognitive attributes can be used as the basis for curriculum development in medical education. The evaluation of such instructional programs should be the focus of future research.

Keywords

• case- attributes, characteristics, community, good physician, perceptions.